Softball: Playing ball never gets old

That's one reason why the 79-year-old and a host of other area senior citizens are still playing softball.

They're part of the Battell Center Senior Slow-Pitch Softball League in Mishawaka.

Participants must be at least 62 years old and it's not just for men -- there's one woman in the league. There is also a junior league for those 54-61 years old.

"The big thing is to have fun," said Walt Pellow, a South Bend native who manages and plays for Irene's Cafe, this year's league champ. "This is very enjoyable. It's slower paced, obviously. But we have some pretty good players in this league."

And the league rules are tailored toward senior citizens and to prevent injuries. There's no sliding. Runners are allowed to run past a base. To avoid collisions at first base, there are two bags, a white one for the fielding first baseman and a red one next to it for runners. There also are two home plates, one for a pitch to be thrown to a batter and a second one four feet behind for baserunners. To keep the games going, batters start with one ball and one strike. And a foul ball on the third strike is a strikeout.

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"And courtesy runners are allowed for anyone who might not be able to go all the way around the bases," Pellow added.

"I just love playing ball," said Marty Wiese, a 77-year-old who is the league's commissioner and who manages Builder's Store. "It's a fun time and there's great camaraderie with the guys. We even had (former South Bend mayor) Joe Kernan out here a couple of years ago playing on one of the junior teams."

Bob Matuszak, a 72-year-old outfielder for Irene's, played baseball at South Bend Central High School, and is ecstatic there's a league for senior citizens.

"I've been playing for about 12 years now in this league," Matuszak said. "I just love playing ball. When I was a kid I used to play park ball. We didn't have all this little league and stuff like they have now. Everybody that's here playing enjoys it. Otherwise they wouldn't be here. It's just playing with people having fun."

Irene's pitcher, Jeff Chamberlin, is the team's "spring chicken," just 62 years old. Pellow, who with Chamberlin, played on a team that won the state 16-inch softball championship in 1986, convinced him to come out for the senior team.

"I didn't play sports in high school," said Chamberlin, an Adams High School graduate. "I was from the wrong side of the tracks. I was from St. Matthew's. And anybody who played for John Adams back then had to be from either Jefferson or Edison or something like that. Plus, I was only 5-foot-3 and 105 pounds. I'm all the way up to 5-8 and 130 now. I've come a long way in some 50 years.

"I missed playing ball. It got to where I wasn't doing anything in the summer. This keeps me in shape and there's great camaraderie. It's a lot of fun."

The league's lone woman, 68-year-old Irene's second baseman Karen Jones, said, "I love sports and this was the only softball that met my playing abilities."

When Jones came through high school, there weren't any girls sports.

"I played sports in grade school and played volleyball and softball in the park league," said Jones, who went to high school in Valparaiso. "When we moved here, I took up volleyball and softball through the Battell Center. I just love this."

No health conditions seem to slow the players down. Dave Wuergler of Irene's plays with an implanted defibrillator. And Pellow has had both knees replaced.

Leave it to Macknick to sum up the biggest reason most are still playing.

"I haven't grown up yet," Macknick said. "I'm still a kid so I'll play the game."